What Shepard Doesn't Hear
by Veni Vidi Vichi
Summary: Shepard can't be around to listen on all the conversations between the teenage refugee and the Turian on the Citadel, Shepard's too busy saving the world, and eavesdropping on other conversations, so what happened when the good Commander wasn't there?
1. Chapter 1

So I've always been interested in what is going on behind the scenes between the teenage refugee and the Turian officer. Eventually I ended up playing Mass Effect Three over again and went in and out of the docks so I could write down the conversations between them. So this has been a labor of, well, I don't think I can call it love, so I'll just say obsession. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter One

Taetrus watched the blonde haired human girl linger near his desk. There had been so many refugees coming through the docks lately it was staggering. And more were coming every day, despite the recent trouble with Cerberus taking over The Citadel. The girl though, with her fidgeting every few moments, was driving him slowly insane.

"What are you doing here?"

The girl looked up at him, obviously startled.

"I'm waiting."

Taetrus felt his mandibles flutter with frustration.

"Waiting, waiting for who?"

"My parents. They put me on the transport and told me to wait for them here. They'll come find me as soon as they can."

Her voice was cheerful and Taetrus couldn't help but be worried about her level of optimism. This kid would definitely need some looking after. She reminded him a bit of the varen he'd begged his parents to let him take home when he was a child, though they had said he wasn't dutiful enough to have a pet.

"I guess this is a safe enough place. Look, if anyone bothers you, you let me know and I'll take care of them, okay?"

The pink tinge of the teenagers face was probably significant in human body language, but Taetrus had never spent enough time around humans to learn much about them. And truly, mandibles were so much easier to read then changes in skin tone and all the other slight changes that made humans so complicated.

"Sure thing sir. Thanks!"

They paused as Commander Shepard walked between them. Instead of moving somewhere else, like he had expected her to, the human girl smiled up at him.

"My name is Sarah, what's yours?"

His mandibles shook in amusement at the misplaced happiness in her voice before he chose to answer her question.

"I'm Officer Taetrus. I'm one of the officers in charge of the docks here."

There was an awkward pause where neither of them said anything, but both of them felt the pressure of the silence.

"Alright, cool, well, I'm gonna go stake out a place to sleep tonight. I'll see you around."

* * *

I know there isn't much to this chapter, but I promise the rest will be longer. They'll also have more story that isn't in the game. If you're willing to take the time to review and let me know what you think, I'd really appreciate it! Oh, and the following is the first conversation between the two in the game, as best I could transcribe it.

Turian: What are you doing here?

Girl: I'm waiting.

Turian: Waiting, waiting for who?

Girl: My parents. They put me on the transport and told me to wait for them here. They'll come find me as soon as they can.

Turian: I guess this is a safe enough place. Look, if anyone bothers you, you let me know and I'll take care of them, okay?

Girl: Sure thing sir. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for all those who read my first chapter! I just have to hope you enjoyed, since none of you reviewed. But seriously, I hope you continue to read my story and that you enjoy it, reviews or not.

Chapter Two

Two days had passed since Sarah had been evacuated from her home planet, a small colony world that had one too many factories for the Reaper's liking. At first she hadn't been too concerned about her family, but now she was starting to get anxious. They would have sent adults out last, yes, but would they have delayed the transports for two days?

"Hey there."

Sarah's head came up slowly, realizing that her thoughts had occupied her so much she'd walked past the woman who was willing to self off extra food, and she was now in front of the Turian officer from the other day. . . Taelak? Vitrus? Maybe a mix of the two? Taetrus? Yes, that sounded right.

"Oh, it's you, hi."

Sarah felt bad about the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. It wasn't his fault that she'd spent the better part of the night drawing portraits of her parents on scraps of paper she'd gathered up during the day. She was afraid if she waited much longer she wouldn't have been able to remember what they looked like. Not that she wouldn't be seeing them soon, but it was always good to have a record, and she'd lost all her old pictures when she'd evacuated with nothing but her school bag.

"Your parents get here yet?" Officer Taetrus's voice was much kinder than it had been the last time they talked, and Sarah almost felt like the fluttering of his mandible was sympathetic.

"Nope. It's okay, I mean- they'll get here. They always keep their promises. They. . . the next shuttle was probably late or something. They'll get here."

"I'm sure you're right. I'm looking forward to meeting them."

An Alliance soldier dressed in. . . could it be called casual wear? Walked by them but Sarah couldn't hold back her excitement.

"Are you really? That would make my Dad's day. My Dad has been obsessed with Turians ever since I can remember. I bet he'd have all kinds of questions for you. . . except that was really rude of me to say, wasn't it?"

"It's fine Sarah, I understand. I have a sister on my home world who is just as interested in humans. She's made it her study."

"Anthropology by aliens," Sarah chortled. "That's a new twist. I was on my way to studying architecture myself, when the Reapers came."

Officer Taetrus seemed surprised, well, as surprised as a Turian could look.

"How old are you?"

Sarah bit her lip, suddenly inundated with happy birthdays of past years. She had a feeling nothing would be marking her birthday this time.

"I'll turn eighteen in human years a week from today."

"And you're already studying architecture?"

"Not yet, formally at least," Sarah admitted, blushing at having been caught in her exaggeration. "I would have started university soon, but I've been doing architecture work since I was twelve. My grandfather was an architect and up until he died I got to work with him on all his projects."

"And what of your mother?" Officer Taetrus asked, sounding honestly interested.

"She's a hairdresser," Sarah said, her eyes remaining proud. "She's great at it and the money she brings in provides my father support for his research at university. He studies insects from across the universe, though he likes to learn about almost anything! What about you? What's your family like?"

Officer Taetrus had just opened his mouth to speak when another turian officer ran by, punching Officer Taetrus in the arm.

"A couple of turians are roughing up a salarian over the genophage and whether or not it should be cured. We need you over in sector 4."

Officer Taetrus nodded at Sarah in farewell before running after his coworker.

"Uh, bye?"

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the second installment of this little story! I got to expand on the characters more this time, which was really enjoyable. I hope you grow to like the two of them as I keep adding to this. And review if you have a second, it would mean a lot to me!

Turian: Hey there.

Girl: Oh, it's you, hi.

Turian: Your parents get here yet?

Girl: Nope. It's okay, I mean- they'll get here. They always keep their promises. They . . . the next shuttle was probably late or something. They'll get here.

Turian: I'm sure you're right, I'm looking forward to meeting them.


	3. Chapter 3

I hope you'll all enjoy this longer chapter. And just so everyone knows, this is between the second and third conversation you can overhear in the game. I thought it would help to build the relationship between Taetrus and Sarah.

* * *

Chapter Three

Taetrus was working the late shift tonight, which normally meant he poked about the docks, making sure all the refugees were where they should be and sleeping instead of getting into any trouble. The only special thing about this night was it was the first night Taetrus had been stuck with night shift since Sarah had come to The Citadel. Not that he had seen her yet, which was beginning to worry him. A little thing like her could get into a lot of trouble with some of the rougher types on the docks.

The Batarian he had often seen arguing, and then becoming friends, with a human before the attack on The Citadel nodded at Taetrus as he went to move past him, but the motion gave Taetrus an idea instead of moving him forward.

"Have you seen a human girl, young, with dirty blonde hair anywhere around tonight?"

The Batarian stared at him, eyes blinking balefully before nodding.

"Can you tell me where she is?" Taetrus clarified.

This time the Batarian nodded and pointed to the back of the docks. Ever since the attack on the Citadel he'd been withdrawn, in his own little world. Some of the newer refugees thought he was a mute he was so quiet. Normally Taetrus would leave someone to deal with their demons on their own, but tonight he descended onto the bench, looking at the Batarian seriously.

"How are you doing, really?"

The Batarian stared at him and Taetrus had a feeling he'd surprised him with his personal question. He'd certainly surprised himself by voicing it.

"I am . . . fine."

Taetrus didn't believe that for a minute. Stories circulated around the docks and he'd heard what had happened the day that Cerberus attacked. The man the Batarian had so reluctantly befriended had attacked a Cerberus officer to distract him from where the Batarian had hidden. The officer had dragged the man away only to shoot him when the man protested against their treatment of the "alien" prisoners they'd detained as they took control. No matter what the Batarian had said about the human before the attack, it was clear how he had felt now.

"Listen," Taetrus began, his mind presenting him with the image of the girl and reminding him he had yet to find her. "I know Batarians don't like to share their emotions very often, especially with non-Batarians, so I'm just going to ask that you talk with that preacher who hangs around here. He was all excited about some scrolls Commander Shepard dropped off today. I think it would be good for you. If nothing else, you'd be doing him a service. He needs a motivation to keep going, and having a flock to teach would surely give him that."

There was a pause that prompted Taetrus to get to his feet. He had a duty to fulfill by looking after that human girl and he shouldn't delay it any longer. He was almost out of hearing range when the Batarian called to him in a cool voice,

"I'll speak with him tomorrow."

Taetrus's mandibles fluttered with satisfaction as he continued to wend his way back through the docks. He knew some of the human guards for the docks thought him strange for making an effort beyond merely the job, but to him it was simple. They were his responsibility, his to care for. He could never have forgiven himself if he wasn't doing his best to make their lives as comfortable as possible.

"Look, I get that you want my spot, so I'll leave, but I want my blasted bag before I go!"

It was Sarah's voice, but there was an edge to it Taetrus had never heard and he took off jogging in her direction. He was shocked by the sight he was greeted with. Five turian youths were in a semi-circle around a space between two metal containers, where a backpack was wedged. Sarah was standing just outside the group, glaring at them. The ringleader of the group clenched his mandibles in an effort to intimidate the human girl. She looked unimpressed and folded her arms against her chest. They stared at each other, waiting to see who would give in first

"No, why should we, filthy human?"

Sarah's face flushed red, which served only to confuse Taetrus more. He certainly hadn't thought she'd been angry the last time it happened.

"I've done nothing to you. You hate humans, fine, whatever, some humans hate turians, but I have nothing to do with it. Everything I own is in that bag, everything! _Please_ give it back."

Taetrus watched as some of the youths grew uncomfortable, shifting around in shame. They obviously were just following the lead of the others. For a second he hoped they'd do the right thing, but the ringleader's manibles were set in determination. Having seen all he needed to and starting to feel a bit anxious for Sarah's safety he stepped out of the shadows.

"What's going on here?"

If Taetrus had been human he would have been amused at the sudden straightening and respectful looks on the troublemakers as they caught sight of someone with authority.

"Just a little dispute over where we'll be sleeping tonight," the ringleader explained smoothly, and if Taetrus hadn't witnessed what had just happened he might have believed him.

"I believe it ws more than just that. Give the girl her bag please."

The ring leader was annoyed, but handed it over without comment. Sarah looked relieved as she clutched it to her chest.

"Thank you, May I go now Officer Taetrus?"

He shook his head at her. He knew she just wanted to get away, but he needed to make a few things clear.

"I'm afraid I have a few more questions. What happened here?"

"They say this is their spot, and anything here is theirs. I wanted my bag back. That's it."

Sarah shrugged a delicate shoulder, glancing away from him.

Taetrus turned to the turian youths again.

"I wasn't aware of that law. Care to explain?"

"She's a human," the ringleader groused, "do we need another reason? They're a blight on the universe."

"And you think that excuses you from the law?" Taetrus asked. "What about Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian trusts the Commander, as does the Primarch. If command listened to them maybe we wouldn't be doing so badly in this war. I think humans deserve more than your contempt. They may be what saves Palaven. I want you to report to Tactus in the morning for an appropriate punishment. And find somewhere else to sleep tonight."

"Yes sir."

The youths grumbled a bit as they left, but Taetrus could tell they had been affected by his words. Hopefully enough that they'd stop pestering humans. Once they were gone he turned to Sarah, whose face was pink again. Not knowing what it meant was slowly driving him mad. He'd just have to do an Extranet search once he was off shift.

"You know I think this counts as someone bothering you. Why didn't you tell me Sarah?"

She bit her lip as she swung her bag up onto her back.

"When they came last night they just messed with me a bit and made me change where I was sleeping. I'd heard the gang of them liked to mess around with the human refugees, but I figured they wouldn't want this place and I didn't want to let them get a rise out of me. I didn't think it was anything to bother you about. Unfortunately I was wrong."

Her voice was light and casual, the way it was so often when speaking about serious topics. Taetrus could guess that while she might be a natural optimist she kept a lot of her worries locked away so that no one would ever know.

"Well, next time something happens don't wait to tell me, okay?" Taetrus waited for her nod before he continued. "You're my responsibility and I would hate for something to happen to you."

"I understand Officer Taetrus. I won't wait next time."

"As long as you aren't in trouble you can just call me Taetrus Sarah. I'm not that much older than you."

She laughed and grinned at him, showing off the pearly white teeth humans tended to have.

"So, Taetrus, do you have time to finish telling me about your family?"

He glanced at his omni-tool with indecision. He'd spent longer than he'd meant looking for her already tonight and he did have other responsibilities.

"Well, I am supposed to be doing my rounds. . ."

"Just let me stash my bag and I can come with you!" Sarah suggested eagerly, rocking back and forth on her heels. Suddenly she stopped. As long as he didn't get too distracted it should be fine. Night rounds were normally quiet anyway. So other than it being a little eccentric there was no reason she couldn't come along.

"Go stash your bag," he instructed and watched as she dashed to do so. "What's in that thing anyway?"

Sarah fell in step with him before answering.

"I was just getting back from school when the Reapers came, so it's mostly school things. The only things in it I really care about are my drawing supplies."

Taetrus wondered briefly what kinds of things she drew before realizing something which made his stomach twist.

"Do you mean to tell me you have nothing to sleep with? Haven't you been cold? The docks aren't kept very warm."

"No, I've—" Sarah cut herself off before sighing and saying instead, "yeah, it's been cold and uncomfortable. But I don't have money for anything. I'm already relying on charity for food."

"I'll bring you a blanket from tomorrow," he said, holding up a talon to forestall any comments. "I live alone since my friend went to fight at Palaven, I have extra."

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Sarah's voice broke into Taetrus's thoughts.

"I really am grateful for the blanket, but don't think you're getting out of telling me about your family because of it!"

His mandibles fluttered with amusement and he let out a chuckle.

"Well, my sister, the anthropologist, was on Earth when it was attacked. We just got news that she is actually part of the resistance there now, alive and well. My little brother is fighting on Palaven as well, so I worry about them more than I'd like. My mother is working on some kind of project with the Alliance, but she won't tell me anything about it."

"What about your father?" Sarah asked curiously.

"He died in a firefight with Batarian slavers," Taetrus said, surprised when he felt a pressure on the armor of his upper arm. He looked down to find her hand stationed there, her face pale.

"I'm so sorry, I have no idea how hard that must be."

He had a feeling she had a better idea about the feeling then she was willing then she was willing to admit, but he wasn't going to pressure her about it. He didn't want her to feel bad, so he wracked his brain trying to come up with a way to comfort her.

Finally he settled on patting her head. She looked up at him, eyes wide with surprise. He was trying to hide how surprised he was from her. He'd seen humans patting each other on the head before, but he'd never had a reason to do it. Hair was soft!

"It was a long time ago," he assured her. "I've made peace with it."

"Time heals all wounds I guess," she mumbled before turning to him with a smile. "Now, what's your favorite color?"

And that night there was no war, just two people getting to know each other.

* * *

I hope that was what everyone was hoping for. The bad news is that I am going away from electronics for 18 months starting next Tuesday. So I have six days to write the final three chapters I have planned for this story. Reviews will help encourage me. ;) Either way, I hope to greet you again next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

Yeah, this is my last day I'll be able to post stories, so I'll keep this short. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 4

After another disappointing "arrivals" check Sarah found herself hurrying to where Taetrus was. She was feeling a bit low today, having spent almost a week on the Citadel with no news from her parents. She swiped at the dirt on her pants, trying to ignore the burning sensation in her eyes. Things had been going so well before the attack. Everything had been as perfect as could be. Three days from now was supposed to mark her getting a chance to spread her wings for the first time, not perhaps the saddest day of her life. But at least she had a visit to Taetrus to look forward to.

When she was finally within hearing distance she called out,

"Hey!"

He turned towards her, mandibles fluttering with what she was now familiar with as amusement. Instantly she felt her mood improve and she grinned at him.

"Oh hey, it's you," Taetrus teased as she came and leaned against a wall across from him. "Still waiting I see. Any news?"

"No, not yet," Sarah admitted, the honest concern in his voice preventing her from being offhand in her answer. Still, she couldn't give up hope. She didn't know what she'd do if she did. "But. . . they promised, right? They'll get here soon."

Part of her winced at how childish and desperate she'd sounded when she said it.

"I'm sure they will," he replied, and part of her couldn't believe it. He was always careful not to raise her hopes too much. He was practical in every way, facts were facts for him and emotions didn't regularly play a part. He even called Sarah Miss Optimist sometimes. "I'll drop by to check on you, if that's okay."

Sarah laughed before saying "okay." He'd been checking on her every day since that night he'd realized she didn't have a blanket. He would come to visit with her when he'd get off work and for a couple hours afterward she would be able to enjoy a dreamless sleep. Unfortunately it wouldn't last very long, and the nightmares had gotten so bad lately that Sarah had begun to try to avoid sleeping.

The same Alliance soldier from last time bumped into her, apologized, and kept walking. The smile made her a bit suspicious though, Maybe her conversations with Taetrus weren't as private as she'd thought. She was about to voice that idea when Taetrus began to speak.

"I know I said we'd talk about turian education today, but I've been asked to help process some new refugees and see which of them have the papers to get into the Citadel Proper. Think you can find something to do until I get off shift?"

"My life doesn't revolve around you Officer Taetrus," Sarah teased, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Sure it doesn't."

He ruffled her hair playfully before heading off. Sarah couldn't help grinning as she headed back to her cramped little hidey hole. Ever since they'd talked about his dad Taetrus had taken to messing up her hair whenever he could get away with it. It would have bothered her, but she'd come from a very affectionate family where she'd rarely went without hugs. Now that she was away from her family she found herself missing the affection more than she'd ever expected. Sometimes it was so bad that it felt like a physical ache. Taetrus patting her head made it somewhat more bearable.

It was a little disconcerting for Sarah to think about how much she needed his help. Her family was always independent. Her dad had installed an old fashioned windmill onto their house so that they had their own energy. Her mom had helped put her dad through school so that they never had to take out any loans. And here Sarah was, no money left, no job, relying on charity for food and a place to live. More than even the physical things she needed it was her emotional dependence on Taetrus that concerned her the most.

Sarah slipped into a doze without even realizing it. Too many hours awake lately had made it so that whenever she sat down for too long, as she'd been doing while waiting for Taetrus, meant she fell asleep whenever she did it.

There were Reapers in the sky above her hometown. Everywhere she looked buildings were burning and people were screaming. Sarah was rooted in one place, watching as people were being grabbed. And there were her parents, being grabbed by Marauders. She screamed as they were placed on the pillars. She could not stop watching as before her eyes they began to turn into husks.

She woke with a start, tears streaming down her face. Desperately she searched for her drawings of her parents, staring at their faces.

"It was just a dream, just a dream," Sarah whispered to herself. "My parents are on a shuttle and they'll be here tomorrow."

But no matter what Officer Taetrus had said the last time they'd talked, no matter what she told herself, she knew better by now. Her parents were dead. Their ship had probably never made it off planet.

"Sarah!"

She shrugged immediately, letting her blonde hair, which was getting dirtier each day she remained here, hide her face from Taetrus. He was worried enough about her already, he didn't need to know she was crying.

"I'm fine sir. You should go look after someone else."

"Sarah, I came to talk to you about Turian education, remember?"

Oh, right.

"Sorry, I fell asleep and I'm a little disoriented," Sarah said, trying to excuse her weird reaction, but when she felt his hand on her head she knew it hadn't worked.

"Sarah, why won't you look at me?"

Reluctantly she looked up at him, knowing he would take note of her red face.

"I did fall asleep while I was waiting," she admitted. "But I ended up having a nightmare. I guess I've been watching too many news reports lately."

"Sarah, how long has this been going on? You're human, you need to get sleep. Have you been eating?"

She couldn't lie to Taetrus when he was this worried or else he might start bringing in bags of food and forcing it down her throat.

"Just a couple of days. I normally get a couple of hours of sleep after you leave, but then I start to have nightmares and I can't sleep. And I've been eating, maybe not a lot, but I have. I've been nervous with my birthday being the day after tomorrow. I'm hoping my parents get here for it."

"How about we do something instead of what we had planned?" Taetrus suggested, and she nodded slowly, curious about his idea. "You lay down, and I'll talk to you until you fall asleep. And I'll stay until I start getting tired. Do you think that will help?"

Sarah knew she was opening herself up to depending on him more, but the prospect of sleep without nightmares won out.

"It would."

* * *

I know this chapter has been a little weaker than the others, but I have two more to write in the next six hours, so go easy on me. I hope it was still enjoyable! And here's the transcript.

Girl: Hey!

Turian: Oh, hey, it's you. Still waiting I see. Any news?

Girl: No, not yet. But . . . they promised, right? They'll get here soon.

Turian: I'm sure they will. I'll drop by later to check on you, if that's okay.

Girl: Okay!


	5. Chapter 5

A little closer to being done! I've been looking forward to writing this chapter since pretty much the beginning of the story, and unlike the last chapter I had it fairly well planned out. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Chapter 5

Taetrus glanced around the bar, looking for his friend. He finally found him sitting on a stool at the bar nursing a drink and headed over to speak with him.

"John, you do realize it's morning, right?"

"Never too early to start," John retorted, gesturing for Taetrus to sit by him. "If I had your job I'd definitely have started already. I'd offer you some of mine, but I don't want to send you into anaphylactic shock, not that you people call it that."

Taetrus let out a reluctant laugh. John was an old C-Sec buddy who spent most of his time undercover, up until the Cerberus attack on the Citadel. He'd broken cover in order to fight back, and he was now effectively desked.

"It's not that bad John," Taetrus argued. "The people there need someone to watch out for them."

"And it's your duty, blah blah, blah. You need to do something for yourself once in a while. Like come visit me after work, when you were supposed to. What held you up last night?"

Taetrus's mandibles twitched nervously. He just knew John would ask about that and he was sure to completely misunderstand everything.

"There's a human girl, Sarah, whose parents are dead. She's not willing to accept that though and I'm worried about what will happen to her when she finally does. She's already having nightmares and problems sleeping now. So I decided to stay with her until she fell asleep so she would feel safe."

"How old is this girl?" John teased. "Because you use that word very liberally. Are we talking legal adult here?"

"Could you not make this about that?" Taetrus complained. "She'll be turning eighteen tomorrow. But dang it John, she's just so innocent and lost. When I think about how much she's lost and how alone she is I just want to protect her."

"So why don't you?"

"What do you mean? I do protect her, it's my job."

Taetrus had rarely seen John as serious as he was then. It normally accompanied funerals and hospital visits.

"Taetrus, you can't honestly tell me that she's just a job to you. I don't care whether it's romantic or not, but you care about her. Not as an assignment but as a person. In all the years I've known you you've never let the job get personal. I'm assuming all those questions you've been asking me about humans have been so that you could understand her better?"

John paused until Taetrus nodded slowly.

"Then there are things you can do to help her. It's her birthday tomorrow, her parents are dead, she has no one to support her and she's living at the docks. You know how hard that must be. So get her out of there."

"John, I have no idea what you mean," Taetrus said. "Sarah doesn't have the papers to leave the docks. And if this has gotten personal, all the more reason for me to not to get involved. I won't break the rules."

"You idiot, just get her the papers," John insisted. "There wouldn't be anything illegal about calling in some favors in order to get the papers for her. It won't hurt anybody."

"I don't know John, it sounds very close to the line."

"Eh, it might be closer than you normally go, but it will be worth it. There are some benefits to being a C-Sec officer. Trust me on this Taetrus, if you don't help her out in every way you can you'll never be able to forgive yourself."

Taetrus relented.

"I'll think about it."

And he did. All morning while he was at work waiting for Sarah to appear the idea played on his mind. Would letting her out be messing with his duty?

"Hey. . ."

And she'd finally come to him. Her face was wan, which he'd come to realize was not a good thing for humans. He could only hope it was a night of bad sleep that had bothered her, not any more bullies. He wished he could really be there to help her more consistently. And maybe he could be, if he followed John's advice. There was a frown on her face that she was struggling to turn into a smile as she looked up at him.

"Looking mighty low today. You okay? Anyone been bothering you?"

"No, it's not that. I'm fine."

And she was lying through her teeth. Taetrus knew better than to be offended though, he'd quickly learned that Sarah had been raised to rely on herself, to take care of her own problems.

"Ah, I see. So. . . um, any news?"

Sarah's face crumpled, though her voice was fighting to stay bright and cheery.

"No. . . just their shuttle must be real slow, that's all. Do you think they're okay? They promised they'd come and get me, no matter what they had to do. It's just been so long. . ."

Her voice trailed off and Taetrus's heart twisted. He'd lied to her yesterday about what he thought, if only to give her a little hope. He couldn't bring himself to do that today, he had to be honest.

"I don't know kid," Taetrus admitted. "I'm sure they'd be happy, knowing you're safe."

A sad sort of smile came over her face as she took deep breaths trying to calm herself.

"It's just, I miss them," Sarah said even as tears began to streak down her face. "I miss them so much!"

In that moment Taetrus didn't care that Shepard was standing off to the side watching or that he was on duty. Sarah was crying.

When his arms closed around her she pressed her face into his armor and cried even harder, taking big gasping breaths between sobs. Taetrus began to slowly run his talons through her hair with one hand, the other one occupied with holding her against him. When her sobs finally quieted he pushed her back gently, leaning down so that he was eye level with her. His decision was made.

"Go pack your things," he instructed gently. "I have an empty bedroom at my place that would love to be filled again."

"Taetrus," Sarah protested, hiccupping briefly. "I don't have the papers, you know that. I can't leave."

"There are some befits to being a C-Sec officer," he said, mandibles fluttering with amusement as he considered John's reaction to all of this. "So you're coming home with me when I get off shift tonight and until your birthday is over your parents are alive on a transport that will be here any day, alright?"

Sarah looked up with him, her eyes shining with tears and gratefulness.

"Okay."

* * *

I hope you enjoyed my second to last chapter with this story. Originally I had a lot of different ideas for why Taetrus would be able to pull some strings, including having him be Garrus's cousin, but seeing how they have different colored facial tattoos and how I don't have a lot of time to finish this up, I went with the easier idea to explain. Let me know what you thought!

Girl: Hey. . .

Turian: Looking mighty low today. You okay? Anyone been bothering you?

Girl: No, it's not that. I'm fine.

Turian: Ah, I see. So. . . um, any news?

Girl: No. . . just their shuttle must be real slow, that's all. Do you think they're okay? They promised they'd come and get me, no matter what they had to do. It's just been so long. . .

Turian: I don't know kid. I'm sure they'd be happy, knowing you're safe.

Girl: It's just, I miss them. I miss them so much!


	6. Chapter 6

And so my mad rush to finish this story comes to an end with this, the final chapter. I leave with you my final wish that you will enjoy it.

* * *

Chapter Six

Sarah woke up in a bed for the first time in days. For a moment she didn't realize where she was, it wasn't her room, it wasn't a friend's house. And then she remembered Taetrus taking her in his arms and offering her a place to stay.

She'd come home with him that night in a state of shock. It was morning now though, and her mind was racing with the implications. She knew Taetrus well enough to know nothing bad would happen to her while she was there. It did bother her on some level that he would now be caring for her completely. She had no job, no way to support herself, and all she'd be doing would be living off his paycheck.

She glanced down at the clothes she was wearing, a large man's shirt and a pair of boxers that Taetrus had sworn had never been worn. Apparently he'd gotten the clothes from a friend of his. This same friend had offered to buy her a wardrobe, but Taetrus had disregarded the offer. Something about how his friend had strange ideas, or something like that. Instead, Taetrus had promised to take her shopping as soon as he could. For now though, she was faced with changing back into her old clothes, freshly washed. They weren't exactly thrilling to put on, so long without being washed properly had permanently altered them.

"Taetrus?" Sarah called as she opened the door to the rest of the house. "You there?"

One look into the main part of the apartment let her know just why he had chosen not to wake her up that morning.

"Happy Birthday Sarah!" He called from the kitchen. "I've made you breakfast!"

And a more perfect looking breakfast she'd never before seen. It looked like it came right out of a commercial. There were pancakes with smiling faces drawn on them with syrup, banana slices serving as the eyes, a bowl of peaches next to what Sarah assumed was her plate, and bacon piled on the side. She sat down, staring at him in wonder as he brought over a plate of food for himself.

"How did you make all this?" Sarah asked. "It looks amazing!"

"I can only hope it tastes as good as it looks. I looked up typical human breakfasts on the net, then the recipes for them. It's difficult to cook when you aren't able to taste it took make sure it's right."

Sarah let out a giggle and dug in. It was indeed as delicious as it looked, and she babbled about it to him for a while. When she was finally done and just sitting there her mind turned back to serious subjects.

"Taetrus, I'm extremely thankful for this, but it just because my parents. . . my parents are. . ."

"On a shuttle and should be getting here any day now," Taetrus commented, a stubborn look on his face as if he was just waiting for her to challenge him.

"Right, well," she was a little thrown off by his sticking to his offer yesterday. "I don't want to just a free loader. I want to-"

"It can wait until tomorrow Sarah. It's still time to celebrate."

"Taetrus, I . . . ok. Let's party."

It was his turn to laugh as he pulled her from her chair and led her to the chairs from which they could watch a vid he'd rented.

"How did you know this was my favorite?!"

"I took a peak at your Univbook and your Spaceface," he replied quietly. "They didn't have any thoughts on your favorite breakfast foods, but you talked a lot about your favorite movies."

"Taetrus, has anyone told you you're brilliant lately?"

In a couple of hours, once the movie was done he instructed her to close her eyes until he said she could look. Sarah was surprisingly tempted to cheat, but she kept her eyes closed until he spoke again.

"Happy Birthday Sarah."

There were two small cakes on the coffee table in front of her, next to what could only be a present wrapped in Blasto covered wrapping paper.

"Hope you don't mind the paper," Taetrus offered. "It was all I had left from John's birthday and I forgot to buy any more when I went out shopping."

"You didn't have to do all this," Sarah said, smiling up at him.

"I wanted to," he replied, something unfamiliar to Sarah in his voice. "Now open up your presents."

The first one was a red sweater that looked very comfy.

"I thought you'd look nice in red."

His voice was gruff, and it didn't take her long to realize it was the exact shade of red that his facial tattoo was. Sarah chose not to comment, since nothing she could say would express just how much she realized it meant to him. Instead she just reached up to hug him while he messed with her hair.

"It's perfect, I love it," she whispered.

Sarah hadn't felt this safe in a long time, and she knew that tonight she would, just like she had the previous night, not be awoken by nightmares. Taetrus would, as he had ever since they'd met, take care of her.

* * *

It's a little shorter, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same. I wanted to give you a peak into their lives together. Which, when I get back after my eighteen months, is more of what I'll be giving you. Finally, thanks for all of your reviews, they've made my day, and I would love to continue to get them. I won't be able to reply, but just know that I am extremely grateful. And so this is Kayla, signing off!


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